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The Women of the Confederacy. 



198 



Mobile. The enemy were pressing the siege at Spanish Fort, 
across the Bay the booming of cannon being heard above all the 
noise of the city. 

I was attending service at Trinity Church, Mobile, for while the 
men were fighting we women were praying. As the services were 
proceeding, the roar of cannon being heard above the voice of the 
aged clergvman, we heard the muffled tread of men coming down 
the aisle, when, looking up, I saw four soldiers, in their worn and 
faded gray, bearing on their shoulders a rude pine coffin, which 
contained the remains of a comrade who had fallen that day at 
Spanish Fort. Slowly and sadly they placed the coffin before the 
chancel, they remaining standing reverently without a word. The 
clergyman began with the burial service. None of us knew for 
whom those prayers were said, but we knew that he was the father 
or husband, or son, or brother, or lover of some Southern woman. 

We had no tribute to pay but tears. The services over the burial 
squad bore their precious burden from the church. They were 
passing by the church and swung the door open and services going 
on, they went in to have the last sad rites over their fallen comrade. 

Some of us were slow to leave the church, for we knew it would 
be to return to lonely apartments. When I reached the door I saw 
one woman standing there — probably she saw in my face the same 
intense anxiety which I had seen in hers, for she said : "Oh, listen 
to those guns. All that I have in this world, my only boy, is 
there," and I said: "And my husband is there, too." 

It was my lot during those four years to hear the guns of three 
besieged cities — Vicksburg, Richmond and Mobile. I saw many 
partings on the eve of battle, but seldom did I see women weep 
when those farewells were taken — we parted with a smile upon our 
lips, but when night came our pillows would be wet with tears. 

I have told you some things that I saw. I will tell you some 
things which I did not see. I saw no mother trying to keep her 
boys from going into battle. I saw no wife trying to persuade her 
husband not to go to the front. And I saw no woman who cried 
surrender. If you ask me to explain this, my answer is because we 
knew we were right, our cause was just, and now, once more, wel- 
come, dear Daughters. 



3fc 



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194 Southern Historical Society Papers. 



CLroicc'R. Ma.it'^r 



(•"roin the Tiines-Dispalch, November nth, 1906. 

THE GREAT BATTLE AT CEDAR CREEK. 



In some Respects one of the most Remarkable of the War. 



EARLY'S THIN GRAY LINE. 



Story told by one who was Desperately Wounded in the Fight. 



Editor of the Thncs-Dispatch : 

Sir, — I send you herewith a picturesque and interesting account 
of Godwin's Brigade, Ramseur's Division, Second Corps, at the 
battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864. It is a soldier's tale, 
relating events as he saw them. It is by Captain Clarence R. Hatton, 
adjutant-general of the brigade, who received a wound in the neck 
as his brigade was charging, which would, in all likelihood, have 
killed anybody but a hardy soldier, such as he was. 

General John B. Gordon, in his reminiscenses, which often 
erroneously refer to General Early, justly reminds his readers that 
General Jackson was never in any one of his great battles so much 
outnumbered as was General Early at Winchester and Fisher's Hill. 
He states that Early in neither of these battles had more than ten 
thousand men, including all arms of the service, while official reports 
show that General Sheridan brought against him over thirty thousand 
well equipped troops. General Gordon holds his figures somewhat 
when he states in a note that Early's army was scarce twelve 
thousand strong at Cedar Creek. But at this battle of Cedar Creek 
Early had a reinforcement of Kershaw's Division, which is supposed 
to have contained some two thousand men. Gradually truth comes 
to light, and it will tell a story of the heroism of '64, such as will 
command the respect of all and uplift the hearts of heroes in days 

to come. 

Captain Hatton is now in New York, engaged in business, but 
we are gratified that he has found time to contribute to the memory 
of his comrades in arms the attractive account he has written. 

General A. C. Godwin, his chief, was a Virginian by birth. 
A tall, lithe, auburn-haired man, who was a born soldier. He had 



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'Ihe Great Batik at Cedar Creek. 195 

— been in California for years, and left amongst his friends there a 

- name well honored and remembered. The gallant tarheels who 
-.' followed him on many fields until he was killed at Winchester, 

^-^ September 19th, were worthy of him and he of them. 

r^ Jno. W. Daniel. 



'i 



In an account of the battle of Cedar Creek, I would suggest that, 
in order to appreciate it properly, we should first consider the 
attendant and preceding circumstances leading up to it, and, there- 
fore, I will go back to some days before, when Early's army was 
encamped up the Valley. I cannot, at this date, say just how many 
days it was, but not very many. It was the last of the few days 
that fall that he allowed us to rest in camp all day (wash-day, the 
hoys called it) w'ithout a move — not on the go, as usual. 

On the day before the battle, early in the morning, I, as adjutant- 
general of Archie C. Godwin's Brigade (Ramseur's Division) 
received orders to have a muster, get up reports of the regiment 
and make up our brigade report of the forces present for service, 
tabulate it, and take it to corps headquarters. This I did, and rode 
over to corps headquarters, which was in a large white house, with 
large grounds around it and a grape arbor on the right side of it. 
Arriving there about noon, hitching my horse and going in, I was 
directed to a room on the right, where I found General Jubal Early 
and Colonel Hy. Kyd Douglas, the corps adjutant-general. 

THINNESS OF EARLv's FORCE. 

General Early took my report, glanced at the totals, and, handing 
it to Colonel Douglas, ordered him to have them all consolidated 
into a corps report, and Colonel Douglas ordered me and another 
young stafif officer named Russell (J. R., I think) to proceed to 
consolidate them into division, and then into a general corps 
report, and tabulate it, which we did; and I remember distinctl}- 
my great surprise that the aggregate of Early's forces was only 
seven thousand, two or three hundred (7,200-7,300) infantry. The 
remarks were passed on what great odds we would have against us 
in Sheridan's 35,000 or 40,000 finely equipped, well-fed men, with 
repeating (or breach-loading) rifles — 5 to i against us — to say 
nothing of their superior equipment of supplies, longer range 
cannon, etc. 

I mention this to give my recollection of the number of Early's 



196 Southern Historical Society Papers. 

force and an idea of what we had to oppose to the Sheridan host, 
which consisted of three corps of infantry (Sixth, Eighth and 
Nineteenth) and one of cavalry, with a numerous and well-equipped 
artillery. 

ENEMY DECEIVED BY STRATEGY, 

Now; as to the battle. I have always thought and contended 
that the manoeuvres made by Early on October iSth (the day before ) 
should be considered a part of the battle of Cedar Creek — that our 
movement out of our camp around against their extreme right 
flank, on the Back of Little Mountain — going there by the more 
open roads, when their outpost could see us now and then — making' 
the demonstration of force, and then withdrawing by the more 
curved roads, and through the woods back to our camp, was purely 
a feint, or maneuvre, made solely to deceive them into the belief 
that we were going to turn or attack their right flank, whilst in 
reality Early's actual purpose was to make a surprise attack against 
their left and rear, as was actually made that night, and that it did 
actually deceive them, as intended results show. And I think that 
when all this, and their overwhelming numbers, etc., is considered, 
in conjunction with our subsequent movements and attack that 
night and next morning, it constituted one of the most brilliant 
strategical movements of the whole war — probably only surpassed 
by some of Stonewall Jackson's — as at Chancellorsville — [see atite, 
the first article in this volume] and, in fact, this battle, taken as a 
whole, I have never been able to find a counterpart anywhere in 
history. 

PREPARING FOR THE ASSAULT. 

Soon after getting back to camp (from our feint) orders came to 
feed up and be prepared to move— then a little after dark, orders 
to get into light marching order — to leave canteens and everything 
calculated to make any noise m marching — ammunition up — or fill 
cartridge boxes — fall in — move. 

Then we knew we were in for some heavy fighting, and our boys 
were eager to get it too — for they wanted a chance to get back at 
them for Berry ville Pike (.September 19th), where they pushed us 
hard to hold the Pike, 

There near Winchester they had killed our much beloved General 
Archie Godwin, and it came near being worse for us than at Cedar 
Creek. It would, too, but for Godwin's Brigade, which held them 



The Great Battle at Cedar Creek. 197 

l)ack against vast odds on the Berryville Pike, and kept them from 
getting into Winchester, in the rear of our army and trains, and 
thereby cutting ofif the rest of the army, which extended away over 
to beyond the Martinsville Pike, where Rodes was killed. It was 
right in the Berrville Pike, while praising his men for having 
just repulsed a heavy assault, thereby saving our right flank, which 
we covered, from being turned and the army cut off, that our dear 
(General Archie C. Godwin was killed (and who, by the way, never 
got the credit which was justly his due). 

MOVING IN POSITION FOR THE MORROVV's BATTLE. 

It was soon after dark, on the i8th October, 1864, that we moved 
out of camp, up the hill, from the little valley to the left of P'isher's 
Hill, where our camp had been located, over the Valley Pike, and 
across the river and along the foothills of the mountains or side of 
it. At times the mountain appeared to be right over the river. 
Slowly, silently, and stealthily we moved, sometimes in a bridle- 
path, sometimes in no path at all. Through the woods the hillside 
was so steep or slanting I got off my horse and walked for safety. 
(3nward, mostly in single file, we moved, through the darkness of 
night and woods, until nearly daybreak the head of the column was 
halted and men closed up. We were then near the Bowman's lower 
ford, where we crossed the Shenandoah the second time. 

As soon as we had our men up and formed, whilst it was yet in 
the gray dawn before daylight, and a mist hanging over, so we 
could not see fifty feet, we were ordered forward, and charged 
across the Shenandoah River, preceded (so far as I could see and 
understand at the time, and I was right at the head of the column) 
by only a few cavalry as an advance outpost guard. I see General 
John B. Gordon, in his " Reminiscenses," says his own division 
preceded Ramseur's Division. Godwin's Brigade was leading 
Ramseur's; it may be another division was ahead, but if so, I did 
not see them, and I am sure I did not hear any firing until we 
struck the enemy, except a few scattering shots of cavalry picket 
firing, as we took it to be. 

STRUCK enemy's LEFT. 

Soon, while the mist still hung over us, we struck the enemy on 
their left flank, overlapping them to their rear and to the rear of 
their breastworks. The first two or three columns or bodies we 



198 Soulhern Historical Society Papers. 

struck did not have a chance to, or anyway they did not, form anj^ 
regular line against us, but with a few shots fled to tlie rear, we 
pursuing toward the 'Pike and obliquely toward Middletown, as we 
were still holding the right of the advance. Every now and then 
we struck some fresh troops. Each succeeding body, having more 
time to make formation, gave us harder fighting, but none stood 
against our charges, but broke and fled. In fact, it wa3 the most 
complete rout I ever saw. Finally, we had crossed the pike, and 
still advancing, we saw quite a large body rallying on the brow of 
an elevation in the edge of a woods, with a stone fence in their front 
on edge of a woods between us; the land sloped down gradually 
Irom our position to a low boggy space, through which a small 
stream (called Marsh Run, I think) ran about forty or fifty feet 
from and nearly parallel to their position, and from which was a 
more sharp or steep rise to their position. 

This position, we were ordered to charge and capture. Straight- 
ening our line as we moved forward, swinging a little to the right, 
30 as to get our left upon an even line with our right, and about the 
same distance from the enemy, our men moved as on parade — I 
never saw them in better line. I was on the right of the brigade 
(in fact, on the right of the army) and in front of our lines. I could 
see the whole movement as I glanced down the line, viewing it with 
pride born of the remembrance of the glorious work already done 
that day (and as many days before) and the conviction that the 
enemy could not stand against our charge, and another glorious 
victory won. 

THAT "rebel yell." 

Onward we charge, the shell is screaming and bursting, and the 
rifle balls whistling and spattering through and around us — that 
yell, that glorious old "Rebel Yell" ringing in my ears. With 
that eager, fiery, exulting feeling, Avhich only just such a situation 
can produce — almost over the low-land, within about 40 feet of the 
enemy — our lines went forward. The enemy's lines appeared to 
waver and success was almost in hand, when a minie ball struck me 
square in front in my lower neck in that little V in the breastbone 
and passed back into the muscles in front of the backbone, where 
it has lodged to this day. 

As our column came up and passed me, some of our men caught 
me as I was falling oft' of my horse, and straighteing me out on the 



The Great Batik at Cedar Creek. 199 

ground, supposedly to die. The men, chargino^ on, orallantly drove 
the enemy from their position, routed, and I was afterwards told 
that this was the last charge made by our forces, supposing them 
too badly routed to make another stand. 

That ball, of course, ended my personal participation in that 
battle, and I knew nothing personally of Sheridan's rally and after- 
noon attack, except in the finale. 

I was picked up on a stretcher, taken to the field hospital, where 
I was laid on the ground, and a knapsack under my head, until the 
surgeons came to me. D*-. Sutton, Dr. Morton, and two or three 
more. They looked at the wound, ran their fingers into it, and, 
as they afterwards told me, felt the ball lodged in the muscles in 
front of the backbone, and seeing that the ball had abraided the 
main artery of the neck, from which I was bleeding like a hog, they 
concluded it would surely kill me to cut for the ball, and believing 
I would die anyway, just bound me up. 

BACK TO RICHMOND. 

The surgeons then sent me in an ambulance just starting with 
Colonel Davis, of our brigade. His arm had been shot off, and we 
were carried to the house of the Mayor of Strasburg, where he was 
taken in. As the drivers and helpers came out of the house some 
of our cavalry came dashing in, shouting: "We are flanked! 
Get out! Get out!" Jumping in, they drove furiously on, and 
when they came to a bridge over a ditch which crossed the road 
about midway to Fisher's Hill, in attempting to cross it they turned 
the ambulance over with me in it. In a few minutes bullets came 
plugging through the ambulance from the Yanks up on the hillside. 
Though I had been given strict injunction not to move hand or foot, 
for fear of breaking open the artery, I crawled out and into an 
ordnance wagon which a jam had temporarily stopped, although 
the driver threatened to brain me with his whip. So finally I 
reached Fisher's Hill, where I recognized the voice of our surgeons, 
and crawling out, was fortunate to catch one of the ambulances 
about to start with wounded for the rear, and so at last, to Rich- 
mond, etc., etc., etc. 

Clarence R. Hatton. 
17 Park Row, New York, 1906. 



LIBRRRY OF CONGRESS 



200 



013 708 991 9 

Southern Historical Society Papers, 



From the Times- Dispatch, December gth, 1906. 

DEMONSTRATION ON HARPER'S FERRY. 



Ho^v Jackson Eluded Freemont and Won Three Fights 
in Four Days. 



Scouting in the Darkness — Famous Valley Campaign of 
1862— Well-Laid Plans That ^A^o^ked Well. 



During the last week of May, 1862, my regiment, "the Second 
Virginia Cavalry," commanded by Colonel T. T. Munford (after- 
ward General Munford) was doing duty around Bolivar Heights, 
near Harper's Ferry. 

During the night of May 29th I was aroused by Colonel Munford 
who ordered me to take my company (Company B, the Wise 
Troop, of Lynchburg) and move down the pike to the neighbor- 
hood of Halltown, which is near the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, 
to establish a picket. 

As I was entirely ignorant of the country, having come there in 
the night, the Colonel proceeded by the light of a Confederate 
candle to outline the route he wished me to take with pencil on a 
small piece of paper. He directed me to pass our infantry pickets, 
and not go into Halltown, but to be sure to stop before the town 
and establish a picket, and to await future orders. I aroused my 
men — they grumbled very much about being awaked so soon after 
going to rest, but they soon got saddled up and off. We started 
with positive instruction from Colonel Munford not to go into Hall- 
town. I suppose that place was looked on as being in the Yankees' 
lines, or too far from ours. 

SCOUTING IN THE DARK. 

On we rode in an entirely new country. None of us had ever 
been there before. We passed infantry in the road. Some were 
asleep by the side, while others were sitting around camp fires. 
Muskets were sometimes stacked, but not always, by a good deal. 
Then the artillery — the guns were in the road, the horses fastened 
to the fences; some of the men awake; others asleep, as the infantry; 
but there w-ere no signs of anybody being on duty that I could see. 



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